Scene in 1997 Titanic movie
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Unsinkable Molly Brown
gkeith_1 — 17 years ago(April 25, 2008 10:35 PM)
In the 1997 "Titanic" movie, Molly is played by Kathy Bates. In the lifeboat with all the sniveling women, Molly yells at them to shape up and get positive. The ship's officer tells Molly to shut her face fast, or else she will get some punishment (thrown overboard?).
In "Molly Brown", Molly is played by Debbie Reynolds. Molly consoles the women, is a little more empathetic than in "Titanic", and even puts her own coat or scarf on one of the women to keep her warm.
I was thinking of this today when I saw "Molly Brown" on TCM. I know there was another "Titanic" movie (1953 or so), but I don't remember if there is a scene in it about Molly being either mean or helpful to the women in the lifeboat.
I really did enjoy Molly's character (Debbie) in "Molly Brown", and always love her singing, dancing and acting in this movie; it was all wonderful. Debbie/Molly showed a lot of spunk, nerve and creative energy. 10/10
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richardpaperboy — 17 years ago(May 18, 2008 10:42 AM)
The movie Titantic kind of glossed over the Molly Brown story, If I remember correctly, in that movie Molly was trying to get them to row over to pick up more people. The officer in the boat out of fear of swamping the boat and saving his own life was unwilling to do that. I think the true story of Molly Brown lies somewhere in between both movies.
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xylonian-1 — 17 years ago(May 19, 2008 04:25 PM)
Well one of the things I didn't like about the latest "Titanic" film was the way the Molly Brown legend was treated as far as her actions in the lifeboat were concerned. She wouldn't be known to history today if she only fixed Jack up for dinner, now would she????
The note on her from wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Brown
Molly Brown shows up in "A Night to Remember", but I don't think she is mentioned in the '53 version or the German version of the '40s.
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tkrolak — 16 years ago(July 02, 2009 02:04 PM)
"I know there was another "Titanic" movie (1953 or so),but I don't know if there was a scene in it about Molly being either mean or helpful to the women in the lifeboat."
The previous Hollywood film called Titanic was released in 1953. It was seen by me when I was five years old, although at that time I knew nothing about the Titanic.
In the movie, there was a rich, middle-aged American woman who played cards with the men called Maude Young. She was played by Thelma Ritter. She may have been modeled after Molly Brown. Sharing a lifeboat with her is a man played by Alan Joslyn. He put on a dress and a hat with a veil to get into the boat. Maude sees his men's shoes and reveals his identity out loud. There is nothing else that is remembered by me about Maude Young in the lifeboat.
Whether or not there were legal reasons that prevented the screenwriters from
calling Thelma Ritter's character Molly Brown, I don't know. But the focus in that Titanic was on the troubled marriage of the two main characters who were played by Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. There is a subplot concerning the husband and son. Stanwyck's character has an affair with a man aboard the ship,
while the couple's daughter is attracted to a college student. Molly Brown being heroic in the lifeboat would have distracted attention from the couple and their reactions to the sinking.
The movie was in black and white. That is why I wondered about the colorful posters I see advertising it on the IMDb webpage for the 1953 Titanic.
Cloris Leachman played Molly Brown in a 1979 television film, which I think was called S.O.S Titanic. I couldn't find it listed in her IMDb credits, but I
definitely recall Joan Collins playing Molly Brown in a General Electric Theater
television drama. It was in or about 1958. -
ljspin — 14 years ago(January 29, 2012 04:45 PM)
Mrs. Margaret Brown she was never called "Molly" during her life was a heroine on the TITANIC. From what I have read, she helped convince several woman to enter the lifeboats. (Remember, for the first half-hour or so, the ship's listing was so slight that many did not feel it, and were not willing to leave the warmth and safety of the liner for a cold, open boat.) "Molly" Brown, after helping these women to the boats, was grabbed by one of the crewman who told her, "You're going, too," and she was placed into a lifeboat. It was Molly Brown who noticed that they were a boat full of women with only one seaman on board. Because of her insistance, they met up with another lifeboat and a second crewman was transferred on board. The original crewman was, indeed, pessimistic about their chances of survival. Molly Brown, however, encouraged the women, organized them two to an oar, and ordered them to row. She told them they could row to meet the rescue ships, and that rowing would keep them warm. When this original crewman, realizing that she was taking the authority that should have belonged to him, tried to stop her, she told him that if he made one move toward her, she would throw him overboard. She commanded her lifeboat for the rest of the night. After being taken aboard the CARPATHIA, Molly Brown circulated among the CARPATHIA's passengers, solicitaing donations to a fund to help the lower class survivors of the TITANIC.
As has been mentioned, Thelma Ritter portrayed a character based on Molly Brown in 1953's TITANIC. According to IMDB, there may have been contractual differences between 20th Century Fox and Margaret Brown's estate as to the use of her name, so a fictional character was created. In the 1958 British production of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Tucker McGuire played Molly Brown, however, if I remember correctly, she is never called by name in the film.
Sorry for such a long-winded post,
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mikeoak840 — 13 years ago(April 14, 2012 08:14 PM)
She also raised a great deal of money for those left widowed or orhaned in some way by the Titanic. Either they survived the sinking but lost the husband or father, or they were back in Great Britain or America with huband or father going down with the ship. And her house in Denver is still there as a museum. No, it's nothing like the set in the movie. It's a nice large house, but not as opulent as one might think.